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Monica, where can I find the rules to the quarterly recital? When do they take place, and when is the deadline for the current one?

Watch for a thread entitled something like "Recital #34 (35? I don't remember... I'll have to look it up! ) -- Call for submissions" appearing late the night of April 30th or early May 1. It will have all the details in there, but the main thing you need to know for now is to start trying to get an mp3 file of your recording. The recital website will be open for submissions between May 1 and 9:00 pm EDT May 14th.

MarieJ, I hope you have your Zoom figured out by then and can submit something. And welcome to the forum!

I'm getting closer. I set out to record the first of the six pieces that make up my submission (one Opus number, don't worry, not too long!) and just kept going. I think I'll use that, warts and all instead of trying to record each one.

But the sixth will take a while longer. It's not fully memorized and I wasn't ready to record it. Might have to go closer to the May 15th deadline than I normally do.

So it will be a short jazzy piece for me, as it often has been. Unfortunately it's part of the ABRSM grade 2 exam, so there's already plenty of kids that play it better than me out there, but whatever! It will be ready for recording in about a week.

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Diana & Wally - Yamaha W110BWMartha Argerich... is an incarnation of the artistic metaphor of the "eternal feminine" that draws us upward. (Sergio Sablich)

I'm hoping to have a short little piece ready to enter into this recital. It would be my first recital, not only on the ABF, but of any kind. I'm on various stages of two or three pieces at the moment, but my submission will likely be similar to my April Piano Bar contribution/first recording. A short, classical minuet or dance of some kind. I'm very excited and working hard to be involved in the recital. Even if my second attempt at recording doesn't go as planned over the next two weeks, I'm looking forward to all the submissions and surprises being mentioned here

So it will be a short jazzy piece for me, as it often has been. Unfortunately it's part of the ABRSM grade 2 exam, so there's already plenty of kids that play it better than me out there, but whatever! It will be ready for recording in about a week.

Hey, no apologies for playing ABRSM Grade 2 music. If you start doing that, then I have to apologize for every single piece of music I have ever learned since they are all RCM/ABRSM graded music played brilliantly by children on YouTube. I started from RCM Grade 1. Never look at a child on YouTube playing your music. Never, just don't it. Too depressing. I have learned not to abuse myself like that! Having said that, I just saw an 8-year-old playing a Beethoven sonatina that I had permission to "put away" lately and she played it so much faster than me.... (She was eight! And I thought I had made it to 12-year-old music.)

Never look at a child on YouTube playing your music. Never, just don't it. Too depressing. I have learned not to abuse myself like that! Having said that, I just saw an 8-year-old playing a Beethoven sonatina that I had permission to "put away" lately and she played it so much faster than me.... (She was eight! And I thought I had made it to 12-year-old music.)

I actually get inspired by watching children easily play music I struggle with. It motivates me to play better.

Never look at a child on YouTube playing your music. Never, just don't it. Too depressing. I have learned not to abuse myself like that! Having said that, I just saw an 8-year-old playing a Beethoven sonatina that I had permission to "put away" lately and she played it so much faster than me.... (She was eight! And I thought I had made it to 12-year-old music.)

I actually get inspired by watching children easily play music I struggle with. It motivates me to play better.

... I just saw an 8-year-old playing a Beethoven sonatina that I had permission to "put away" lately and she played it so much faster than me.... (She was eight! And I thought I had made it to 12-year-old music.)

You are playing 12 year old music. It's just that the 8 years old is playing 14 year old music. That all!

Seriously.... You say faster. Was it any more musical? Was it musical at all? That's what it's all about.

Seriously.... You say faster. Was it any more musical? Was it musical at all? That's what it's all about.

OK, if you put me to task, the way the 8-year-old girl played was basically non-sense musically especially from perspective of Beethoven. But she did play with that extremely smooth flow in legato, perfect staccato articulation, and complete mastery in memory that few adults beginners seem to master (ever). It's like speaking completely fluently without accent of a native speaker, but content desert typical of an 8-year-old.

I try to avoid watching too much stuff like this on youtube, if I can. Hopefully I'll find other performers I can aspire to.

I think usually any kid, or at least most that are sharing their wares at this level, are likely in a very small percentile to begin with. Occasionally, I've come across a live performer and I've thought to myself ... how could someone that young be that talented. I don't really know the answer ... spirituality/channeling come to mind.

I've managed to get a recording tonight that I believe I will stick with. It has to pass the "is it acceptable tomorrow morning" test, but I'm fairly confident it will make it. I've had to flush only two already this way. Funny, how little things can really start to annoy you when they just won't go away. The miraculous thing is though, the piece is actually in much better shape then it was at the time of first recording, last weekend ... long since flushed. Of course, all due to the recording process and having to live with it.

So, very happy I can move along to other stuff now. Well, post tomorrow morning ... .

Never look at a child on YouTube playing your music. Never, just don't it. Too depressing. I have learned not to abuse myself like that! Having said that, I just saw an 8-year-old playing a Beethoven sonatina that I had permission to "put away" lately and she played it so much faster than me.... (She was eight! And I thought I had made it to 12-year-old music.)

7 billion people on the planet quite a few of them height and age challenged. With just about every parent looking for any modicum of talent and tripping over each other to show it off to the world is there any wonder why youtube has so many little prodigies?

Unfortunately while it is never wise to compare ourselves to others (no matter what age) it is an inbuilt competitiveness that makes us do this. On the plus side this is what gives us drive and determination.

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I thought I understood endurance sport; then I took up piano XXXVII-8-XXX

For sure. I will speak out of both sides of my mouth. As soon as I say NEVER look at YouTube I'm already looking at some youngster playing something or another because it's there and I can't stop myself.

If you all would like to look at one child who is an exception to all you talk about with prodigies. Look at Emily Bear. She will inspire you. With only having heard her siblings practice. She walked up to a piano and played a perfect C scale at 2 years old. Yes her grandmother had been a concert pianist. Much support there. Her parents are extremely wise. They took her to some of the best teachers there are. They developed her musical ability. Everything she was taught she soaked up like a sponge. She was being compared to Mozart. Yet, with her parents wisdom. They didn't want her to be another driven creature. They just wanted her to be a happy little girl. The only things they pushed on her were other things. Like going to summer camp. Which as I remember, her mother made sure there wasn't a piano within 50 miles of the camp. She wrote a thousand original melodies by the time she was 10 years old. Recently she was invited to a seminar for composers of music in film. Something only the best and talented are invited to. She loves jazz. But wants to become a composer for film. Like John Williams. She is, I think, 14 years old now. Her latest album is Diversity. Quincy Jones was the producer.

So I spent some time with the Zoom this afternoon, and got a recording of my recital piece that I felt pretty good about all the way up until the very last dramatic run at the end of the piece, during which I skipped a note. So now I have to decide to submit a recording with a skipped note that I otherwise feel good about, or hold out for better.

Yeah, I know, I'll end up doing what I always do: submit my flawed recording fairly early and then try (usually futilely) to come up with a better take later.

My recording is done as well. I did about 3 takes and I think that was all I could stand. I think I am lacking in the patience and persistence department when it comes to recording. It's all new to me. So there are mistakes. I hope the forum are not expecting note perfect performance. I am not going to start editing nor do I have the tools for that. That's just not going to happen for me.... Maybe I could start a new trend and train the forum used to hearing mistakes from recital performances.

Eh, when you hear the duet I just submitted, you all will realize you have worried over nothing. My sister and I really pounded this one out. So, the results are not the greatest. Main thing is we had fun. If I can post this recording up, anyone with a mistake or two have no worries.

I am pretty happy with the recording this time. Starting to get the hang of it ??? heh heh.

The piece is Seventh Street Blues by Martha Mier. It's an introductory Blues piece included in Martha Mier's book, "Jazz, Rags, and Blues."

On the Tchaikovsky recital, I was able to download all of the .mp3 files and put them together on my iPod touch. Worked out great! I want to do that again this time around. I am looking forward to this recital because of the anticipated diversity of the styles of pieces. Can't wait!